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Welcome to the 2013-2014 Earth Partnership Kickapoo Valley Reserve Institute
**University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate Course (registration opens in January 2014)** Curriculum & Instruction 630—Restoration-Based Environmental Education and Science Training Earth Partnership for Schools, 2013-2014 School Year

Earth Partnership for Schools (EPS) is a curriculum for outdoor learning through ecological restoration established by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum in 1991. From its original start in Wisconsin, EPS has expanded to twenty states and Puerto Rico. It employs restoration of native plants on schoolyards in the form of rain gardens, prairies, woodlands, and other habitats. This is accomplished through teacher institutes that train educators to use EPS interdisciplinary K-12 activities that are tied to state standards in science, math, language arts, social studies, and other subjects. By focusing on restoration in schoolyards, environmental literacy is brought down to a scale to which students, teachers and community members can relate. Teachers will be energized to provide outdoor learning experiences that connect students with their home environment.

The course is designed as a five-day teacher training institute over the course of the 2013-2014 school year. Our first meeting was held at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve in LaFarge on August 20th, 2013 from 9:30 am - 3:30 pm. Remaining institute days in 2013 will take place from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm at the same location on **October 20th and November 17th**. 2014 institutes dates will take place on **March 22nd and April 26th**.

After year one is completed by early May 2014, this project will involve a second year in which participants recruit additional team members from their school to implement a rain garden or other ecological restoration project. Teams will participate in a 1-week summer institute from **August 4th - 8th, 2014.** This will be co-taught by year 1 participants along with Arboretum staff and consultants.

For a course syllabus for the year 1 institute, please click on the following Word document:

Here are instructions for registering for year one of this class. Registration opens on January 16, 2014.

For readings and other information, click on the links for each institute date in the upper right hand box on this wiki page.